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With the Olympics dominating every sort of media imaginable, there is a competitive spirit in the air…what better time to do a little competing of your own.  Even if you’re not into sports, I think watching the Olympics brings out a competitive spirit in everyone.  And a little friendly competition is always healthy, especially if you’re competing to be as healthy as you can be.

At Mary Lanning, our AWESOME team of Wellness Coaches set a challenge for all Mary Lanning employees in the last part of the summer called the Sizzling Summer Smackdown.  It’s a six week challenge that can be done individually or as a team and challenges each team member to drink up to six 8 oz. glasses of water each day, eat 6 servings of fruits and vegetables each day and exercise one hour every day.  There are 41 teams and 180 participants and the winning team gets a prize when it’s all said and done, but the best prize is being a little bit healthier than you were before you started and of course bragging rights!  We are in week three and it has been a lot of fun so far.  It’s so cool to see people really getting into it and working out an extra ten minutes just to get another point or eating more fruits and vegetables just so the team below them won’t pass them the next week.  The great thing about competition is if you get into enough you forget about the hard and all you care about is winning, no matter what it takes.  What better way to get in shape than to compete?

You don’t have to compete with as many teams as we have.  Find a friend or two, compete with your spouse or significant other, or create a little friendly competition in your office.  Right now is the perfect time to start a challenge, the spirit of competition is running on all cylinders with the Olympics in full swing…take advantage of it and see how healthy you can become with a little competition!

About the author: Amanda McKenzie

Amanda is a 20-something resident of Hastings who found her way here via Hastings College. She is an Exercise Specialist at Mary Lanning Memorial Hospital. She coaches girls a competitive 8th grade girls basketball team called Nebraska Heartland. In her spare time she enjoys getting together with friends and family, watching and participating in sporting events, working out and shopping.